Wrong door: A drunk cricketer tried to open a cabin door on a British Airways flight after mistaking it for the toilet (Picture: File)

A ‘drunken’ Sri Lankan cricketer tried to open the cabin door of a British Airways plane flying at 10,700m (35,00 ft) after he mistook it for the toilet, reports claim.

Sri Lanka A opening batsman Ramith Rambukwella apparently sparked panic among 229 passengers onboard the St Lucia to London Gatwick flight as he tugged away at the door for two minutes.

BA crew and teammates rushed down the aisle and calmed the 21-year-old down as he realised his mistake.

A spokesman for the airline said it believed the cricketer ‘had been drinking’ and an investigation has been launched by Sri Lanka Cricket after the incident on the Boeing 777 on Monday morning.

The cricket board said it was ‘disappointed to hear of the incident.’ It is awaiting the delivery of an official report into the incident by team manager Jayantha Seneviratne and said in a statement: ‘Disciplinary action will be taken against the player concerned if he is found guilty.’

Eyewitnesses said Rambukwella left his seat and confused the cabin door for the toilet in the plane’s dim lighting.

Recruitment consultant Charlene Francis, 26, of London, who was travelling on the plane with one-year-old daughter TJ, told the Daily Mail: ‘Suddenly he came over and tried to open the cabin door several times. It went on for a few minutes. He was pulling quite heavily.

‘It was very scary. He looked very dazed or drunk. Some of his teammates were shouting and telling him to stop. He seemed quite disorientated.

‘Somebody said the team had been drinking for four hours before they got on the plane,’ she added.

A BA spokesman said Rambukwella had apologised to passengers and cabin crew for his mistake ‘who accepted it in good faith.’

He went to say: ‘There was a minor incident onboard the BA2158 service from St Lucia to Gatwick involving a customer who we believe had been drinking’

He added: ‘It is impossible to open an aircraft door when it is at high altitude and at no point was the aircraft in any danger.

‘Our cabin crew are highly trained to deal with such incidents and offered re-assurance to customers who were sitting near to the door.’

BA said it informed security on the ground but police were not called or involved in the incident.

The Sri Lanka A team was travelling back home, via England, after being defeated by the West Indies in a five-match one-day series.